Speaker Profiles André Leu [IFOAM Organics International; Australia] The president of the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM), the world umbrella body for the organic sector. IFOAM has about 800 member organizations in 120 countries. Its goal is the worldwide adoption of ecologically, socially, and economically sound systems based on the principles of organic agriculture. André has over 40 years of experience in all areas of organic agriculture, including growing, pest control, weed management, marketing, post-harvest, transport, grower organizations, developing new crops, and education in Australia and in many other countries. He has an extensive knowledge of farming and environmental systems across Asia, Europe, the Americas, and Africa from 40 years of visiting and working in these countries. He has written and been published extensively in magazines, newspapers, journals, websites, and other media on many areas of organic agriculture, including climate change, the environment, and the health benefits of organic agronomy. André and his wife own an agroecological organic tropical fruit orchard in Daintree, Queensland, Australia, that supplies quality-controlled fruit to a range of markets from local to international. Cho Wan Hyung [Korea] The executive director of Hansalim Cooperative Federation holding a doctor’s degree in Food Marketing Economics. He’s also assuming various roles in other organizations such as; auditor of Korean Society of Organic Agriculture; standing director of Korean Society of Dietary Education; member of BOD of Korean Society of Cooperative Studies, member of BOD of Korean National Agriculture Forum; member of BOD of Korea Food Education Network; counsel memer of organic agriculture support group under Korean ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs; and etc. Moon, Ji Young [Korea] A staff member of the business planning team at Hansalim Cooperative Federation. She Joined Hansalim in 2011, and later moved to the planning team. In the present, she is in charge of the analysis of the condition of Hansalim’s business trends and its projects for international cooperation. Hansalim is cooperative established by producers and the consumers. The producers farm and produce products believing human and nature as well as the urban and the rural area is connected with the string of life. And the consumers use the products understanding the mind of producers. Hansalim is active in direct trade between the producers and the consumers based on life giving agriculture. Hansalim is also doing the meaningful daily action which saves our lives and earth through the efforts to live together with our neighbors in need, the living culture in harmony with nature and the humble consumption.
Ong Kung Wai [Malasia] A chairman and consultant of the Organic Alliance, Malaysia. He studied Biodynamic Agriculture and Rural Development at Emerson College, U.K, and participated in community development work in Asia, Europe and USA. He specializes in organic agriculture consultancy, and during his long years of experience in the subject he has been part of the Agriculture Programme Officer for Pesticide Action Network for Asia and the Pacific (PAN AP). From 1995-2005 he was the vice president of the International Organic Accreditation Service (IOAS) and from 2005 to 2011 he was a world board member of the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM). Pham Phuong Thao [Vietnam] The owner and director of Organica. After graduating in environmental technology from the university of Hanoi, Thao decided to dedicate herself to grow organic vegetables. For this purpose, in 2013, she started her company and started working for the development of a distribution system of organic food in Vietnam. Organica’s mission is to provide natural, high-quality, non-GMO food to Vietnamese consumers in order to help them achieve healthier lives. Shi Yan [China] The executive director of Shared Harvest (Beijing) Ecological Agriculture Service Ltd. She received her PhD from the Renmin University School of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development, and has recently finished her postdoctoral research at Tsinghua University’s School of Social Sciences. As a young PhD student, she founded China’s very first CSA Farm for growing and distributing organic vegetables to city consumers. The project also contemplated renting plots of land to city dwellers interested in getting their hands dirty! Since then, 500 similar CSA farms have opened across the country. After this successful experience, in 2012, Shi Yan moved on to establish Shared Harvest in Tongzhou and Shunyi. Currently, Shi Yan is the vice president of the International CSA Network (URGENCI). In addition to her work as a pioneer of Chinese CSA, she is the author of ”My Alternative Farming Experience in America” and the Chinese translator for “Farmers of Forty Centuries”, “Organic Farming in China, Korea, and Japan”, “Sharing the Harvest: A Citizen’s Guide to Community Supported Agriculture”, and “Slow Money”.(the Beijinger) selected her as one of the 20 most interesting people in Beijing. More than 300 Chinese media channels have reported her story, as she is well known for her public speeches and lectures to inspire more people to reconnect with land.
Zainal Arifin Fuad [Indonesia] The head of the Departement of International Affairs – responsible for communication with international partners of Serikat Petani Indonesia (SPI) and La Via Campesina, building international networks and campaigns of SPI and La Via Campesina at international level. Previously he was secretary of SPI ( 2004-2013). Since 2006, Zainal is the person in charge of the communication with FAO and IFAD for the active participation in the Global Farmer Forum in Rome. In addition, he helps to link programs of cooperation between IFAD and various farmers’ organizations in the Asia- Pacific region. He is involved in the development of a training center of SPI on agroecology and seed banks. La Via Campesina is an international movement which brings together millions of peasants, small and medium-size farmers, landless people, women farmers, indigenous people, migrants and agricultural workers from around the world. It defends small-scale sustainable agriculture as a way to promote social justice and dignity. It strongly opposes corporate driven agriculture and transnational companies that are destroying people and nature. La Via Campesina comprises about 164 local and national organizations in 73 countries from Africa, Asia, Europe and America. Abdur Rob [Bangladesh] The head of Food, Agriculture and Markets. He is a specialist in market-system analysis, private-sector and value-chain development, with 30 years’ experience in Agriculture, Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change. He is an expert in the Participatory Market System Development (PMSD) approach used to field crops and vegetables, livestock health service, dairy, and beef; fisheries and post-harvest agro-processing. Currently, he is working for scaling up agroecological production through market systems. Abdur Rob has assisted national & international NGOs and donors in agricultural value chain analysis, project design and capacity building on Making Market Work for Poor (M4P). He provides technical consultancy services in strategic review and training to Making Market Work for Char (M4C) project jointly implemented by Swisscontact and Practical Action. He has good negotiation skills to deal with NGOs, private sector businesses, and government officials. He has been working with Practical Action Bangladesh since March 1998. Mr. Keam Makarady [Cambodia] A co-founder and staff member of CEDAC for about 17 years. At Cedac, Mr. Keam is responsible for the program on Health and Environment. He has more than 10 years of experience in promoting organic agriculture, forming small producer groups in Cambodia, and setting up internal control systems for linking their organic products to domestic and international markets.
CEDAC (Centre d’ Etude et de Développement Agricole Cambodgien / Cambodian Centre for Study and Development in Agriculture) was founded in August 1997, envisions a Cambodian society where small farming households enjoy good living conditions and strong mutual cooperation. CEDAC promotes the empowerment of farmers to determine their own destinies, as well as to play an important role in supplying healthy food for the whole society. For more than 16 years, the work of CEDAC has been focused on capacity-building and education of rural farmers in ecologically-sound agriculture. CEDAC began with only seven employees that supported farmers in 2 villages in Kandal province. Now, CEDAC employs 277 people, including 63 women, 222 technical staff members and 55 administration/support staff members. In addition, the organization currently provides direct assistance to about 160,000 families from 7,200 villages, 1,050 communes and 150 districts in 22 provinces of Cambodia. Achala Samaradiwakara [Sri Lanka] The Director, Operation – Lanka Good Market (Guarantee Limited), Sri Lanka Achala has a Bachelor degree in Management from the University of Colombo, a Certificate in Human Resource Management, and a Diploma in Rural Development from the University of Colombo. She has a Master of Business Administration from the University of Cardiff, United Kingdom and she is specialized in Social Enterprise. Achala worked as Project Coordinator for the Alcohol and Drug Information Center (ADIC) before joining Sevalanka Foundation in 2006. She has professional experience in project management, event planning, and management with a specific focus on social enterprise development and market linkages for rural producers. Achala serves on the Board of Directors of SUN Peoples of the World Food Program country branch and she handles the Economic & Food Security program on the Forum. Currently she is handing all the income generation activities in Sevalanka Foundation as National Coordinator Income Generation Programs. The Good Market wants to make it easier and more fun to “do good” and make better choices for our planet, our communities, and our health. It is a platform where socially and environmentally responsible producers, services providers, and consumers can come together. Sri Lanka has many organic farmers, social enterprises, and responsible businesses that are creating products and services that are eco-friendly, socially responsible, and healthy. It also has many well-educated consumers that want to feed their families natural and organic food and choose products and services that match their values. The Good Market is a place for these groups to meet. Contrary to conventional farmer’s markets where you can find mostly raw material farmer’s products like fresh vegetables and fruits, at Good Market in Colombo, Sri Lanka, apart from organically grown farmer’s products, local and international visitors can experience organic rice dishes, healthy snacks, both local and international flavours, while buying eco-friendly hand-woven placemats, fair-trade wooden carvings and all natural body scrubs.
Nongnut Foppes-Ayamuang [Laos/Thailand] Nongnut holds a Bachelor Degree of Soil Science from Khon Kaen University, Thailand and a Master Degree of Environmental Technology from Wageningen University, the Netherlands. She is the founder of Xao Ban Healthy Living Products, and an entrepreneur that distinguishes her business by making a positive return to society and enhancing the quality of life of local residents. Xao Ban Healthy Living Products is a small business unit of the producer group called Xao Ban Group (Xao Ban meaning “villager”). Xao Ban has actively developed more than10 types of food products such as yogurt, salad dressing, tomato sauce, fresh fruit juices, jam, sour cream, quark and bread. Xao Ban Group also expanded the concept of internships for local and international students and volunteers. It provides employment opportunities for handicapped people through a partnership program with Lao Handicap Organization. They now employ seven handicapped staff full-time. Chen Li [China] Chen Li or Bob graduated from Xi’an Jiao Tong University in the year 1999 with double bachelors’ degree. He majored in Industrial Engineering and Machine Automation. He has 10+ years working experience in famous Chinese company, like TCL and Aigo, 3 of them are working overseas working. He has rich marketing and sale experience. Since May 2012, he became a partner with Doctor Shi Yan and created ‘Shared Harvest CSA, and was responsible for agricultural project development, marketing promotion and online business. At present he is working with his friend in an egg producing farm. Michael B. Commons [America/Thailand] Working with Earth Net Foundation for over 10 years as coordinator of its Organic Fair Trade Rice Chain Project. This project has worked to build the capacity of farmers organizations, NGOs, and social entreprenuers from South and Southeast Asia in the areas of organic rice production, guarantee systems, supply chain quality management, fair trade marketing, and climate change resilence capacity. Aside from coordinating this project, he also locally coordinates 2 exchange programmes, the MESA program, which sends new generation farmers and staff to work on organic farms in the USA for one growing season, and an FK South to South Exchange Programme with focus on climate change adaptation for small-scale farmers through sustainable farming methods and appropriate technology. At home he practices organic farming and the Wanakaset method (organic agro-forestry) with his wife on their farm in Chachoengsao, Thailand. Michael is originally from California, USA. He first came to Thailand as an exchange student about 28 years ago and returned to settle 12 years ago.
Hans van Willenswaard [Netherlands/Thailand] Originally from Netherlands, Hans is an Advisor of the School for Wellbeing Studies and Research in Thailand where he has lived for nearly 15 years. In addition, he is a co-founder of Suan Nguen Mee Ma social enterprise. Hans graduated as a ‘cultural worker’ in the Netherlands, and later he studied Rural Development at Emerson College in the U.K. His experiences cover the area of organic agriculture, youth empowerment and development studies. He co-initiated the Towards Organic Asia programme (TOA), and he is currently writing a book on ‘the Wellbeing Society’. Kamduong Pasri [Thailand] A guardian of the natural agricultural wisdom from Burirum province. The foundation of his work lies on the conviction that one should “plant whatever one eats and eat whatever one has planted”. As a consequence, he grows his own bamboo, various kinds of vegetables, and he has his own fish pond. He feels that this is his source of bliss and happiness. Kamduong thinks that people who are not worried about becoming rich, but worried about achieving a peaceful life are role models passing important wisdom to the next generation. He also considers leading a life guided by contentment is the only way for making sure that the family, community and country will be protected from getting lost in the dangers of the mainstream world. Trying to live a life coherent with his beliefs, Kamduong, began his own natural agriculture farm, and became a leader for managing the province’s agricultural system according to the philosophy of sufficiency economy in Burirum Province. In short, Kamduong is the main promoter of organic farming knowledge in Burirum because he is deeply committed to reduce the pesticide usage and the cost of farming in his province as well as to protect the health of farmers and increase the happiness of his community. Lee Ayu Chuepa [Thailand] The Co-founder of the international award winning, fair-trade coffee “Akha Ama”. Lee was born and brought up in the Akha village Mae Chan Tai located in Chiang Rai Province. “I’d never been to the city as a kid,” says Lee, “but I told my parents I wanted to study”. Simple like that, Lee started an adventurous journey that took him to a temple in Lamphun, where he learned to speak Thai and some English. Later, he became part of various youth groups organizations, and after completing his high school studies he became the first member from his village to attend university. Lee became a student of the Chiang Mai Rajabhat University from where he graduated with a degree in English. However, Lee’s dream to go back home and help to improve the wellbeing of his community took his career in a different path. After receiving a social entrepreneurship grant, in 2010 he started Akha Ahma coffee and turned the local coffee production business into a high quality brand. The income received by Akha Ahma has been used, from the beginning of the project until now, to help transform Mae Chan Tai.
Rungrueng Sitthicha [Thailand] The head of the nutrition department in the Chaingrai Prachanukroh Hospital, the main public hospital in Chaingrai. As head of the department, Rungrueng has made sure that the Chaingrai hospital’s food service system presents patients with safe food. For this purpose, she carefully looks over the quality on the whole food chain and selects healthy and secure vegetables, meat and processed food. Over time, her experience has allowed her to improve her strategic connections. Today, she works together with the government and the food producers in the area, which has allowed her to check the quality of the products for the hospital in the field and by herself. By having a direct relationship with the local farmers she has managed to reduce the cost that usually represents a middle-man. Moreover, interested in facilitating that more people get access to healthy food, Rungrueng, has helped local farmers to set up green markets to sell their products. Her objectives seem to be materializing quickly as organic farmer’s markets become more and more frequent in her province. To summarize, Rungrueng interest in health, food and fair trade has lead her to involve in many projects such as providing organic food to her hospital as well as local schools, and restaurants, Pruet Kertchucheun [Thailand] The general manager of Dairy Home Ltd., the first company using a full organic system for dairy production in Thailand. As the leader of his company, an important part of his activities is to provide training to the farmers associated with him on how to work in a way that follows the organic rules and methods. Through farmer education, Pruet makes sure that every detail of the production process fits the organic standards. Dairy Home started functioning in 1999, and from its very beginning has been a company concerned with providing fair-trade products produced in an environmentally responsible way. In consequence, the company not only produces organic dairy but also packs all its products in biodegradable plastics. Dairy Home, after proving its model successful, began to spread its knowledge to fellow farmers. In 2010, this effort resulted in the formation of the group “organic dairy farm”. In the present, “organic dairy farm” comprises 11 farms that produce 3,000 liters of milk per day. Dairy home’s processes the milk into a variety of products distributed through their own restaurant and in supermarkets, shopping malls, green shops, and green restaurants throughout the country. Teera Wongjaruen [Thailand] As president of farmers of Chanthaburi, Teera is the person in charge of looking after the problems regarding oversupply and yield in Eastern Thailand. Oversupply,causes every year the decline of the product’s prices. In order to attempt to solve this issue, Teera created the Chanthaburi model for vegetable management. The model runs in 9 areas that comprise 5 small districts, 3 schools and 1 police station. The main objectives of the model are to strengthen farmers organizations, and to promote the philosophy of sufficiency economy. Chanthaburi model has played an important role in the development of policy for fostering local production, processing and marketing, and for the protection of agricultural land.
Kingkorn Narintarakul, Food for Change [Thailand] Asst. Director of BioThai Foundation In 2008, we had the opportunity to attend the Slow Food Festival and Terra Madre in Turin, Italy. Inspired by this, and the growth of the local food movement and farmers markets in America and Europe, we set up the Food For Change (Kin Plian Loek) Campaign starting from February 2009 to begin a dialogue with consumers in the big cities about the problems in today’s food system. We encourage consumers to raise questions about the source of their foods and reclaim their food knowledge. We want them to understand the changes that are taking place and be able to make an informed choice, so that they are able to choose to support produce from safe production methods that are environmentally friendly, and fair to small-scale farmers. Our main activities are to disseminate news and information through our own media channels, the mass media, and various events. We promote local markets, set up by the farmers networks around the country, and we investigate local food menus and knowledges that can be shared. Food For Change believes that if we, as consumers, want change, we must begin with changing our own behaviour: • we must strengthen ourselves, educate ourselves, and practise exercising our right to choose • we choose to support small-scale farmers, producers, and operators who preserve diversity, do not harm the health of consumers or growers, and practise environmentally friendly methods; and • we have to build our own alternatives also, by taking part in setting up our own food system on which we can depend. Consumers need to know the right questions to ask, then become an active citizen in putting forward not only recommendations but complaints to commercial producers, the government, and related agencies, so that these bodies are aware that they are under public scrutiny. BioThai stands for Biodiversity & Sustainable Agriculture & Food Sovereignty Action Thailand Biothai Foundation together with the Alternative Agriculture Network (Thailand) work to promote sustainable agriculture and food security in various communities in all regions of Thailand for more than 20 years. One of our current approaches is to promote alternative farmers’ markets to create outlets for non-chemical produce from sustainable agriculture farming methods. Arut Navaraj [Thailand] The managing director of Sampran Riverside, graduated with a degree in chemical engineering from Germany. However, in his career he has completely shunned the use of chemicals and instead has dedicated himself to the practice of organic farming. Arut started an organic farm to supply the Sampram Riverside resort with safe fruit and vegetables. Not content with this he convinced neighboring farmers to follow his lead in organic agriculture helping them is this way to increase their income and protect their health. Additionally, he has turned Sampran Riverside resort into the setting for a very popular organic farmers’ market open every weekend for nearly 5 years. Sampran Riverside has become more than a well-known eco-cultural destination, as it also attracts several schools every year which go to learn from their organic farming practices
Sampran Model is a project initiated by Sampran Riverside Resort 5 years ago with the aim of promoting organic agriculture in the Sampran district and Nakornpathom Province. This district is located just an hour to the southwest of Bangkok. Its area covers 11,599 hectares and it has a population of 866,064 habitants. Sampran is predominantly agricultural based with mainly tropical fruits, rice and vegetables. Taking into account the richness of the province, Sampran project seeks to develop a value chain for organic products in Sampran district and nearby areas. The project is operated under the Bliss Foundation which receives funding from the Thai Health Promotion Foundation and the Thailand Research Fund. The strategy of the Sampran model is to link farmers directly with consumers through new supply chains. They provide assistance to create new market channels for farmers that are already successful with the organic model and also for those farmers who have entered a period of conversion from chemical agriculture to organic agriculture. The current market channels are the restaurants of Sampran Riverside resort, Sookjai Weekend Farmer’s Market, Sookjai Market Roadshow and the upcoming Sookjai Market Online. They also provide assistance in production planning and post harvest activities. At present, they work with around 200 farmers from which at least 60 will be audited to become certified organic according to IFOAM standards. Suchan Silumnui [Thailand] A secretary and part of the committee of the Thai foundation “Mokichi Okada Association” (MOA). The main objective of MOA is to contribute to the development of society, particularly on the field of education. For this purpose, the foundation functions as an education center for health, natural agriculture, and for the protection of environment and local tradition. MOA started its mission in 1995, with an agricultural project for the transformation of soil. The project aimed to provide farmers with training on natural agriculture, and to recover the soils affected by chemical pollution. Until the present, the foundation is dedicated to the education of farmers and to raise awareness among citizens about the importance of the principles of organic agriculture. The specific training courses that MOA offers include seeding, soil improvement, production, use and commercialization of bio-pesticide, and organic land management. Additionally, MOA offers a certification of safe vegetable to help farmers increase the value of their products. All MOA projects aim at strengthening sustainable agriculture according to the national policy guided by the philosophy of sufficiency economy. In that regard, MOA is not only concerned with technical course, but also provides education in meditation and natural therapy for addressing the more subtle aspects of health. Panu Pitakpao [Thailand] In the past, Panu used to have a government appointment as a teacher and as the secretary of the governor at Songkla province. However, seeking a more fulfilling life he quit his job and became a full-time farmer in his hometown, Rattanapoom. Moreover, Panu decided to experiment with organic farming by himself because of his interest in finding solutions to the problems of all the farmers who have find themselves stuck in the chemical farming. After gaining experience and becoming successful on his own land, in 1995, he joined with other farmers to create the “Moral Market”. Him and his group sought to raise public awareness on the need of having a market
managed in a sustainable way and with fair prices for both producer and consumer. With this in mind, they created a green market in Songkla Nakarin University and started a project for delivering organic vegetables at the Hadyai Hospital, as well as in other private hospitals and restaurants of Songkla province. Still concerned with making organic and healthy food available for everyone, in 2007, Panu opened his own restaurant named “Krue-PuanSukkapab (The Healthy Kitchen)”. Shortly, this restaurant became a hub and a distribution center of the organic products grown by the farmers of the area. The restaurant became also a meeting point for people doing organic farming, and a learning center for those who want to know more about organic farming. Khuanchay Santi-Paraphop [Thailand] The owner of Salanda Farm, which is an organic farm created for the purpose of making available for everyone pesticide-free vegetables. Khuanchay started his project in 38.4 sq.km. at Tumbon Nguleurm, Mueng District, Nakorn Phatom Province, and by 2010, got the Thai Organic Agriculture Certification. Three years later, in 2013, his farm became one of the main providers of organic vegetable in well-known department stores such as The Mall group Ltd,. Villa Market, and in many green shops including the vegetable shop at Siriraj Hospital. Khuanchay has also established his own shop at Kasetsart University to make his products easily available for students and for the surrounding community. In this shop, he also sells organic bean noodles, organic beverages and other healthy products. Duangdae Sayupatum [Thailand] The manager of the organic distribution center of the social enterprise Suan Ngern Mee Ma. At the center, Duande works for creating an alternative market that is able to bring together producers, entrepreneurs and consumers. At the same time, he looks over the functioning of the supply chain to make sure that the center provides the consumers with a high-quality service and products. The main objective for the creation of the distribution center in which Duangdae works, is to offer an alternative channel of distribution in order to facilitate the access to organic products in Thai society at large. For this purpose, the distribution center works mainly with institutional clients like schools, hospitals and local markets. Two examples are the Phatom Nonsri Elementary School in Bangkok, which currently prepares every meal with organic vegetables, and the organic station at Thanom Mit Market, in Ladprao Bangkok, that offers “organic food for all” at affordable prices. Jacques-chai Chomthongdi is the Advocacy and Campaign Coordinator of Oxfam Thailand Programme. His current areas of work include Food Justice and Fare Sharing of Natural Resources, with a focus on the link with urban consumers. Previously, Jacques-chai was a Research Associate at Focus on the Global South, a programme of development policy research, analysis and action, based in Bangkok. He is also a co-founder and active member of FTA Watch, a network of NGOs, academics, and social movements
in Thailand monitoring and coordinating campaigns related to bilateral and regional trade negotiations. Moreover, he is a co-founder and core member of the ‘Thai Working Group for Climate Justice’ (TCJ), a coalition of NGOs and individual activists, established in early 2008. The key goals of TCJ are to raise public awareness and to empower Thai civil society on climate change related issues and to promote justice aspects in the climate debates and climate policies. Oxfam works with others to overcome poverty and suffering. Oxfam GB is a member of Oxfam International and a company limited by guarantee registered in England No. 612172. Registered office: Oxfam House, John Smith Drive, Cowley, Oxford, OX4 2JY. Oraya Sutabutr [Thailand] The coordinator for the Big Trees Project (www.facebook.com/BlGTreesProject) and Farmers’ Friend Rice Project (https://www.facebookcom/farmersfriendrice). In addition, she is a part-time lecturer at Thammasat University (Bangkok, Thailand), a Board Member of Sanya Dharmasakti lnstitute for Democracy, and a freelance writer and translator. Oraya holds a bachelor degree in Psychology from Clark University (USA.) and a master degree in English Literature from the University of Victoria (Canada). At Thamasat University, he has been appointed as the Associate Dean for International Affairs, and as the executive director and project director of the British-American Studies program in the Department of Arts. Wallapa van Willenswaard [Thailand] The manager and director of Suan Nguen Mee Ma social enterprise. After graduating from the Faculty of Arts of Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, Wallapa worked for various years in the private sector. However, seeking to have a greater impact in the construction of a more just society, she moved towards the social sector and started a new path at the Spirit in Education Movement (SEM). Later, in 2001, Wallapa co-founded Suan Nguen Mee Ma social enterprise with her husband. In 2006 she initiated, together with green business partners, the Thai Green Market Network and the Towards Organic Asia (TOA) programme. Suan Nguen Mee Ma social enterprise was founded in 2001 as a social enterprise (registered as a company) with both business performance and social activities to raise awareness. The enterprise started as publishers for a new paradigm, and grew into an innovation platform for projects and social movements, a bookshop and green corner, health food restaurant and a model for a Learning and Distribution Center (LDC) for community organic products. It hosts the secretariat of the School for Wellbeing. The community of shareholders consists of 1. NGO’s like Ashram Wongsanit (an alternative learning platform), the Spirit in Education Movement and more 2. Socially responsible business leaders and 3. The management and Suan Nguen Mee Ma team. The major implementation approach is a mixture of building networks of networks, learning by doing and responsible partnerships between producers, markets and mindful consumers www.suan-spirit.com .